FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT JESSE MARSCH - PAGE 3

At this time of the season, teams will take a win any way it can. But Fire coach Bob Bradley, although gladly pocketing the three points, was less than thrilled with his team's 3-2 victory over the Miami Fusion Wednesday night at Soldier Field. For the first time all season, the Fire (17-10) squandered a two-goal lead and needed a score in the 83rd minute from Josh Wolff to claim the victory. The win was the fourth in a row for the Fire, longest current streak in Major League Soccer.

Jesse Marsch was momentarily taken aback when told Saturday night's game-winning goal came from 30 yards out. Marsch's tally, along with goals from Ante Razov and DaMarcus Beasley, helped the Fire to a 3-1 Major League Soccer over D.C. United before 12,624 fans at Cardinal Stadium. "Thirty, huh? I don't think I've ever scored a goal from that [far]," said the Fire midfielder, whose blast past D.C. United goalie Nick Rimando in the 61st minute snapped a 1-1 tie. "I didn't even know I could kick the ball that far."

Two hours before game time, Zach Thornton was "just chilling," not feeling any pressure before his first career playoff game. He could have said the same thing during the game. Thornton faced just three shots on goal, all coming in the final 10 minutes, of the Fire's 2-1 shootout victory against Colorado in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Thornton saw a little more action in the shootout. After allowing goals on two of the first three attempts, Thornton made saves on Colorado's last three attempts.

Sam George wasn't supposed to be in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday night, let alone play another 90 minutes for his new team. Before the Fire acquired him Monday, George had logged four 90-minute efforts in a 10-day span with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. That workload, and the suddenness of the trade, led Fire coach Bob Bradley to tell George to get his family business in order and join the team Friday. Then Bradley changed his mind. "When we got done looking at the tape of Kansas City, we felt it was a game in which we needed (George)

It was a tale of two halves for the Fire in Sunday's regular-season finale, a 6-2 loss to the Columbus Crew. The Fire (15-7-8), playing without leading scorer Ante Razov and several other regulars in preparation for the playoffs starting Saturday, roared to a 2-0 first-half lead on an unassisted header by Dipsy Selolwane and a penalty kick by Jesse Marsch. The Crew (10-12-8), eliminated from playoff contention after D.C. United's tie with Kansas City on Saturday, played with a lethargy befitting the drizzly, gray afternoon.

Peter Nowak proved his value to the Fire by not playing a single minute Saturday. Nowak and Jerzy Podbrozny stayed in Chicago nursing strained hamstrings, and their absence was felt in the Fire's 4-1 defeat by defending champion D.C. United at RFK Stadium. "Peter makes a big difference on our team," Fire coach Bob Bradley said. "He holds things together for us. His leadership was missed." Nowak and Podbrozny were injured July 9 in the loss to Columbus. At the time, it seemed Nowak's injury was the less serious of the two and he would be available Saturday.

For the second straight Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match, an Orlando Perez pass to Dipsy Selolwane was the difference for the Fire. This time Selolwane headed home a Perez pass in the second minute of the second overtime Wednesday night to give the Fire a 1-0 Cup semifinal victory over the Charleston Battery at North Central College in Naperville. With the victory, the Fire gets the chance to defend its tournament crown against host Kansas City on Sept. 22. The Wizards beat San Jose 1-0 Tuesday night.

U.S. national team stars playing in MLS are getting a pass this time around. Mindful his players on MLS teams still are involved in late-season playoff chases, U.S. men's national team coach Bob Bradley instead will rely on an all-international cast for Saturday's friendly against Poland at Soldier Field. It's the first time since MLS' 1996 debut that the U.S. lineup consists exclusively of Americans who regularly play overseas. "Whenever you play Poland in Chicago it carries a little bit of extra special motivation and feeling for everyone," Bradley said at a Thursday new conference.

One Fire player had his season end in late April and two more are likely facing the same fate. Another has a nettlesome calf injury that lingers like an overdue bill and a fifth is still recovering from a groin injury. And that's just the forwards. With the bumps and bruises and fatigue the rest of the team feels late into a long season, it's little wonder why the Fire will welcome the final two weeks of the regular season, when they will play just once a week. Fire coach Bob Bradley could ask one of his injured players for a crutch to lean on. But that's not his style, and Bradley said his team is not much different than any other.

The Fire's match against Chivas USA on Saturday night had a different feel because of the Toyota Park debut of former Fire favorites Jesse Marsch, Ante Razov and Bob Bradley--all now with Chivas. Unfortunately for Fire fans, the result was all too familiar. For the fifth consecutive match, the Fire went winless at home with a 2-1 loss. The Fire's last win came July 4 with a 1-0 victory over Kansas City. Juan Pablo Garcia opened the scoring for Chivas with a 77th-minute shot to the upper-right corner past Zach Thornton.